Greetings one and all. Today I’d like to talk to you all about kits that I find are great for conversions, and also what’s good to have to build up a bitz box that you can return to time and time again to give a unique edge to your models.
Like a lot of people, I love to convert my models and make them unique to me and my army. From a simple kit bashed captain to extensively sculpting entire armies so that each model is a unique piece of art, conversion really adds character to your collection. So with this in mind, it’s great to know that Games Workshop has released a couple of very good boxes that are great for converting Space Marines (everyone else but space marines are just soooo over saturated with models). So, what boxes are they and why are they good?
Vanguard Veterans
In my opinion this box is amazing for conversion material. It has a huge number of close combat weapons, specifically: 4 pairs of lighting claws, 4 thunder hammers, 4 storm shields, 5 chainswords, a power sword, power axe, and a perfect relic blade. All of these are fully compatible with the new Primaris Marines which gives them a more ornate and veteran appearance to them. But with this in consideration, let's talk about money.
This box costs £30. As of time of writing, the rough cost of a thunder hammer on eBay was between £3-£5, and storm shields are roughly the same. This means that the lower end of the scale is £24, and the highest end is £40. Considering the amount of extra bits you get for your bitz box I personally feel this box is incredible if you're looking for these bitz… It’s also perfect for building those smash captains.
Sternguard Veterans
Once a long time ago, before the Rubicon Primaris, one of the best boxes was the Sternguard Veterans. A whole host of ornate armours and weapons really gave the unit an Eltile or Crusader feel. The box has a huge variety of weapons: 2 of each combi boltguns, 6 individual boltguns, 2 storm bolters, 1 heavy flamer, 1 heavy bolter, a meltagun, plasma gun, 1 of each grav, plasma, and bolt pistol. Needless to say this is a selection of ranged weapons that would be amazing for any bitz box. Unfortunately with the marines of old now being overshadowed by their larger, taller brothers who can’t use most of these weapons, this box set is becoming less and less useful. But if your army needs more normal marines with fire power, this box is great.
Blood Angels Death Company/ Sanguinary Guard
These two boxes are great if you're playing Blood Angels or one of their successors; both sets come with a huge range of glorious close combat weapons, all bearing the iconography of the Angel. Alongside this, the decorative style of the armour allows you to make some truly stunning characters which would fit well in nearly any army with which you want to give a more civilized air too.
Space Wolves Pack and Terminator Wolfguard
Civilized however isn’t something that can be said about the sons of Russ (an air of wet dog and stale ale would be more fitting). These boxes are not only perfect for creating your space wolf army (and yes, I’m stating the obvious) but they’re also great for creating any force that has a more barbaric feel to them. Both kits are packed to the brim with weapon options and stylized armour, and by using a scalpel a whole host of other space marine chapters become possible.
Devastator Squad
The first and last word in man portable heavy weapons is the Devastator box. This box is amazing in its value, with two of each heavy weapon and a host of combi boltgun options, close combat weapons and pistols, this box can either be used to build its namesake squad or to give much needed flexibility to your tactical marines. It has such a variety that it’s a perfect box to add to your bitz box.
Added extra Deathwatch
A deathwatch army is the perfect place to put all of these box sets together and build an army that feels like it’s pulled from a 1000 chapters.
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